Caring at Home
What Supplies Do You Need to Care for a Relative at Home?
A straightforward starter checklist for family carers: gloves, aprons, hand hygiene, waste and the few extras that make daily care easier.
OMS Clinical Team
Product Specialists
Caring at Home
A straightforward starter checklist for family carers: gloves, aprons, hand hygiene, waste and the few extras that make daily care easier.
OMS Clinical Team
Product Specialists
For most people the starting list is short: disposable gloves, disposable aprons, hand sanitiser, liquid soap, paper towels and a lidded bin. Everything else depends on the particular needs of the person you look after. Start with those six and add as you go.
Caring for someone at home often begins gradually. One week you are helping with shopping, and a few months later you are managing personal care and medicines. Most people never get a list handed to them, so here is one.
This is where most people underestimate. If you provide personal care three or four times a day and change gloves properly between tasks, six to ten pairs a day is normal. That is roughly a box of 100 every two weeks. Aprons follow a similar pattern.
Buying professional pack sizes is not over-preparing. It is the difference between changing gloves when you should and making a pair last because there are only three left.
You may not have to pay for all of this. Depending on circumstances, some continence products are available through the NHS, and your local authority may fund equipment following a needs assessment. Carers UK and Age UK both run advice lines, and a district nurse or GP practice can tell you what is available locally. It is always worth asking before buying.
If you would rather buy the basics in one place, our home care essentials selection covers gloves, aprons, hand hygiene and paper products in professional pack sizes.
Caring at Home
